The Role of the United Nations Security Council in the Strengthening of the Withdrawal Clause of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

Vovchok, Zoryana (2010) The Role of the United Nations Security Council in the Strengthening of the Withdrawal Clause of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. PhD thesis, University of Trento.

Abstract

The DPRK is the only State that attempted to leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1993 and 2003. In accordance with Article X(1) of the NPT, a withdrawing State is required, inter alia, to submit notifications of withdrawal to all States Parties to the NPT and to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). However, the role of the UNSC in such a case is not defined in Article X(1) of the NPT. Thus, both in 1993 and 2003, there were disagreements among the UNSC members on the involvement of the UNSC into the matter and its possible actions to respond to the announcements of withdrawal from the NPT.
The UNSC was criticized for either not fully deploying its mandate under the UN Charter, or intervening in the matter of withdrawal. In some cases, actions of the UNSC were regarded as an infringement of the sovereign right of States to leave Treaties.
This PhD dissertation assesses the powers of the UNSC under the UN Charter that gives the UNSC the mandate to take actions in case of threat to international peace and security. The dissertation focuses on Article 39 of the UN Charter, under which the UNSC defines such threat; and on the competence of the UNSC to pass binding decisions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The dissertation concludes that the UNSC has the authority to define withdrawal from the NPT as a threat to international peace and the security and consequently to take actions under Chapter VII.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), withdrawal from the NPT, Article X(1) of the NPT, the DPRK, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the UN Charter, "threat to the peace", Article 39 of the UN Charter, NPT review conference